What is the Best Diet Plan?

First of all, despite what the low-carb/low-fat/[insert faddy diet name here] pushers would have you believe, there is no one ideal diet for everyone. For example, some people do better with a higher proportion of carbs (or fat, or protein) than others, some do well as vegetarians, whereas others find they need some meat to feel their best - you get the picture. So don't listen to anyone who says everyone absolutely must eat in 'x' way to be slim and healthy.

Having said that, there are some fundamental healthy diet principles that apply across the board, and the best diet plans will incorporate these. These 'basics' include:

• Drinking lots of water
  


• Eating mostly natural foods with minimal processing (i.e. - dump the junk!)
  


• Including all the major food groups
  


• Eating enough
  


• Eating a good variety of foods
  


• Allowing for some flexibility
  


• Including exercise - it's not all about food
  


• Losing weight at a healthy pace
  


• Sustainability - you should be able to keep the weight off for life
  

On the other hand, the best diet plans will not expect you to:

• Live on unhealthy (and probably expensive) processed foods (such as ready meals filled with junk ingredients)
  
  
• Live on 'meal replacement' products - sure, these can help you to lose weight, but they're not a healthy long-term solution
  
  
• Rely on weight loss pills - a good diet plan has no need to rely on unhealthy gimmicks like this
  
  
• Cut out a major food group (such as carbs or fat), or cut it down to unhealthy levels
  
  
• Be so rigid and restrictive that you can't live a normal life
  
  
• Cut out meals - regular refuelling is a must
  
  
• Not eat enough food - if you're still ravenous after a meal, chances are you won't stick to the diet for long!
  
  
• Lose weight too quickly - people who lose weight at a healthy, steady pace, tend to keep it off, and avoid the 'yo-yo' cycle that plagues so many
  

The very best diet plan is that which isn't a diet plan at all. Sound contradictory? Not really. For most people, 'going on a diet' suggests something of a temporary nature. You go on the diet, lose some weight, go off the diet, and put it all back on again. This miserable cycle can be avoided only by retraining your eating habits. To lose weight permanently, forget about 'going on a diet', and look for a long term diet plan (I'd rather think of it as an 'eating plan'!) that helps you to develop new healthy habits that will not only enable you to lose weight now, but to keep it off for the rest of your life. Once that new style of eating becomes second nature, you won't even need the plan anymore!

Obviously, if you're going to stick with a new way of eating, and stay slim, the plan much be one that's appealing to follow. Now, if you're currently living on high calorie junk foods, or are just in the habit of overeating even healthy foods, then you'll need to make a change, and the change probably won't be that much fun at first. But with a diet plan that ensures that you have enough to eat, that the foods are delicious and easy to prepare, and that provides enough variety, you'll find it easier to get through that initial challenging stage of building new eating habits. And after a while, your tastes will change - the chemical-laden junk foods won't be so appealing, and stuffing yourself past the point of satisfaction won't be something you want to do either (I've experienced both of these changes, and it's wonderful when it happens).

So which diet plan meets these criteria? If you take a look around your local bookstore, or do a Google search, you'll find an abundance of diet plans, and sadly, most of them won't help when it comes to both losing weight now, and keeping it off for life. Many are either based on a gimmick, are dangerously unbalanced, need a ton of expensive supplements to make them workable, or are so complex and require so much time-consuming attention to tracking every little detail that any normal person would soon give up in frustration.

But fortunately there are some exceptions, and the one that has worked for me is Strip That Fat. This is a downloadable e-book package (so you can get it instantly - no need to brave the crowds at the shops or wait for it to arrive in the post!), and if you follow the suggestions in the book, this will basically be the last diet book you'll ever have to buy. It works - simple as that. And you won't be going hungry or throwing your health down the tubes to get slim either - this plan puts a strong emphasis on doing what's best for your overall health as well as your figure. You can read my in-depth Strip That Fat review here, but for now, here's why I would say 'Strip That Fat' without hesitation to anyone who asks me what is the best diet plan:

• The suggested foods are all natural, healthy choices - no junky ready meals or meal replacement garbage here.
  
  
• The meal suggestions are also very tasty and satisfying - 'if 'healthy food' conjures up images of bowls of bran and suchlike to you, don't worry - Strip That Fat plan is nothing like that. You'll also be eating enough, and eating often enough, so you won't go hungry or feel deprived.
  
  
• It also discusses the other factors that can make or break a weight loss quest, such as exercise, motivation, other people - it's not all about food.
  
  
• It's very flexible - the program comes with a Diet Generator meal planner that offers thousands of possible combinations (including a wide variety of vegetarian options) - there's no way you'll get bored with this!
  
  
• You have the option to get a recipe book, calorie counting worksheet (though you absolutely don't have to count calories to do the plan - it's just for those people who find that this helps), and more. And unlike a regular print book, the package is updated regularly, and you'll have lifetime free access to the updates - no need to purchase the new edition.
  
  
• Most importantly, Strip That Fat is not a 'diet' in the normal short-term sense. Instead it puts the emphasis on building new eating habits that will both get you slim and keep you slim - and healthy - for life. It doesn't matter if you just want to drop a few pounds, or if you're very obese and have some serious weight to lose - Strip That Fat's balanced, healthy, sane approach will work for anyone who is willing to stick with it (and sticking with it is pretty easy, especially compared to most 'diets'!). After a while you'll want to eat the foods your body needs, in the quantities it needs, and won't even need the plan (though you might choose to keep following it because it makes meal planning so incredibly easy and fuss-free).
  
  Ok, I could say a lot more (again, see my full Strip That Fat review if you want more details, or just visit the official site), but hopefully it's clear by now why I think that Strip That Fat is the best diet plan I can recommend. I love eating this way, I love the way I just easily maintain my slim body size and shape (I actually gave up weighing myself some time back, but am a US size 2, which is just right for me), and feel healthy and full of energy. I'll be eating the Strip That Fat way for the rest of my life, and am confident that anyone who tries it (and commits to really sticking with it) will have great results too.
  
  (BTW, Strip That Fat comes with a 60 day money back guarantee, so if you try it and then don't think it's the best diet plan for you, you can easily get a refund.)